Belle Lawe makes the long journey to England in 1912. She is escaping from what she imagines to be a shameful secret, and by the time she has left school, and the Great War is raging in France, she attempts to immerse herself in a life of gaiety and fun.

Adam Palairet, who had shared his childhood with Belle, returns wounded from the trenches having seen many of his friends and comrades blown to bits in the fighting. Belle, disappointed in love and with her favourite cousin dead in the influenza epidemic which was ravaging England, falls ill and only survives when Adam finds her and takes her to Scotland to recover. She is hostile towards Adam and resentful of his managing ways, but at the gaunt, grey edifice of Cairngowrie Hall they begin to work out their differences. When Adam has to return to the front, Belle has to confront the man who brought her so much misery in her childhood, and who threatens to remove her only chance of happiness.

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Listener Opinions

CLM | 9/15/2013

" I loved the first two books in this series but found this one very dark and depressing. Unfortunately, the author now seems to be successful writing juvenile fantasy for boys so may not return to historical fiction. "

Rebecca | 11/12/2012

" Ok - I confess - I cant actually remember much about this book or its plot so that suggests to me that for a start my memory is worse than even i thought and secondly it clearly wasn't very memorable and thirdly - I must write reviews as soon as I finish the book! "

Barbara | 2/1/2012

" I enjoyed this but didn't love it. It didn't seem to matter that it's the third of a trilogy; it stands well on its own. "

Barbara | 5/2/2011

" I enjoyed this but didn't love it. It didn't seem to matter that it's the third of a trilogy; it stands well on its own.
"

CLM | 10/17/2007

" I loved the first two books in this series but found this one very dark and depressing. Unfortunately, the author now seems to be successful writing juvenile fantasy for boys so may not return to historical fiction.
"

Other Titles by Michelle Paver:

About the Author

Michelle Paver was born in central Africa but went to England as a child. After earning a degree in biochemistry from Oxford University, she became a partner in a London law firm. She eventually gave that up to write full-time. The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series came from Michelle’s lifelong passions for animals, anthropology, and the distant past—as well as an encounter with a large bear in a remote valley in Southern California. To research the books, she has traveled to Finland, Greenland, Sweden, Norway, Arctic Canada, and the Carpathian Mountains. She has slept on reindeer skins, swum with wild killer whales, and gotten nose to nose with polar bears—and, of course, wolves. The first four books have been made into widely acclaimed audiobooks, read by Ian McKellen.

About the Narrator

Anna Bentinck is a British actress who trained at Arts Educational Schools and has worked extensively for BBC Radio. Winner of four AudioFile Earphones Awards, she has provided voices for many audiobooks and such animated series as 64 Zoo Lane. Her film credits include Alice in Wonderland and To the Devil a Daughter.

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